Marion Barry and the Left’s Hatred of Asian Entrepreneurs

Marion Barry’s mouth set him up. The disgraced former mayor of Washington, D.C., who was caught on tape in a 1987 crack cocaine sting, made an even bigger disgrace of himself and his city on Tuesday. Celebrating a Democratic primary victory, the city councilman attacked small businesses owned by “Asians” in his district. Then the race-baiting clown doubled down.

Barry told supporters in D.C.’s Ward 8: “We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go.” Once pushed out, Barry promised, he would replace the foreign invaders with “African-American business people.” Barry then took to the social networking platform Twitter to expound on the perils of “dirty” Asian shops in his neighborhood.

As documented by my Twitter curation start-up Twitchy.com, Barry posted photos of supposedly hazardous stores — including Chinese restaurants surrounded not by trash or toxic waste, but by Plexiglas barriers and reinforced doors. Barry explained that Asian-owned businesses that had the audacity to protect themselves from crime were “lowering standards” in his constituents’ communities.

In Barry’s bizarre world, law-abiding entrepreneurs who take steps to prevent robberies are the ones who threaten Ward 8’s quality of life — not the armed thugs who threaten honest livelihoods in the first place. Vigilant wealth creators taking care of their families? Scourge of D.C. Profanity-spewing drug addicts inciting hatred against successful achievers of the American Dream? Model citizens!

Crazy Barry doesn’t just need another round of rehab. He needs a reality check.

As a commenter on DCist.com noted, 2010 Census data showed that “Asians made up 0.4 percent of the Ward 8 population (blacks made up 93.5 percent, a 1 percent increase from 2000). If anything, Asians are moving out, not in — the Asian population decreased 13.6 percent (from 301 people to 260 people) between 2000 and 2010. Meanwhile, the child poverty rate in Ward 8 sits at 48.3 percent, a 1.2 percent increase since 2000 — in contrast, the District’s overall child poverty rate decreased 3 percent since 2000. Now that’s what I call defying the odds.”

If Barry’s ignorant slurs had come out of the mouth of, say, former GOP Gov. George Allen of Virginia (pummeled for his “macaca” gaffe), there would be calls for his head from every civil rights organization in the Beltway. While the Washington Post reported that Barry “apologized,” he showed typical fake penitence for “offending” Asians and claimed he was “taken out of context.”

By “Asian,” he blubbered to a local TV reporter, he didn’t mean “Asian.” He really meant all “those persons (who) come into our community, whatever color they are; it happened to be Asian initially.” Put the prejudice pipe down, buddy.

Instead of showing true remorse, Barry dug in deeper with even more divisive, entitled and militant us vs. them propaganda: “We’re spending our money there, and we demand respect,” he told the Washington Post. “We demand they participate in community affairs. We demand they give jobs to Ward 8 people regardless of their cultural situation. That’s as American as apple pie.”

Sorry to disagree but those Asians wouldn't have been in this trouble if they didn't come here in the 1st place. Most blacks had no choice as they were brought here as slaves and are now American citizens. We should be taking care of our own first whether black, white, or Hispanic, rather than third worlders.

davarino

You give Asians a little money and what do they do with it? They work hard and build a business and save money and invest and are successful. What do the other peoples do with a little handout money? Buy XBoxes and Reboxs. You might want to emulate rather than hate the Asian community.

I'm just sayin

Sage on the Stage

Your post is a mischaracterization of American history. You state, "Most blacks had no choice as they were brought here as slaves…" True enough, however, the Liberian Colonization movement never got going, because out of an 1860 population of 4.4 million slaves(in America), only a few thousand went back to Africa. Why? To paraphrase Dr. Thomas Sowell, they knew that life was better in America than it would have been in Africa. In addition, you conveniently forget that Asians built the Central Pacific Railroad, often handling dangerous nitroglycerin. In many cases, their reward was the terrible prejudice they experienced in California.
"Asians" are among our best citizens, and you need to recognize that. You are not a conservative, either.

mrbean

We have been pouring money down that "Black Hole" since the Great Society in 1967 and after 45 years and trillions of dollars we have a parasitical tribalist black community that demands more and more and contributes less and less. Asians work hard in school and in business, Too many blacks are either criminals , on welfare, or employed in government.

ksandra

Unless you're a Native American, you have no call criticizing other people for coming here. This is a nation built by immigration. The problem isn't immigration. It's illegal immigration. See the difference? Asians have as much right to be here as anybody and, coincidentally, anybody here who doesn't like the U.S. – irrespective of how they got here – has every right to leave. That you would lend any support to Barry's despicable statements indicates you are no conservative, whatever your nom de comment is.

tagalog

"Native" Americans also came here from someplace else.

http://www.quotingislam.blogspot.com traeh

Anyone born here is a native American. I do not come from somewhere else. I was born here. I am a native American.

PhillipGaley

Look at The Ronettes, Dr. Vu, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Michelle Malkin, give a look at Yick Wo v. Hopkins–a case showing how those of Asian descent overcame tremendous administrative hurdles, . . . just so they could work a job! To be free to work a job–can you believe it!

Those who are of Asian extraction are not known for enjoying queuing up for various handouts–bags of groceries, welfare checks, rent checks, and what-not. I like that.

Supposedly, to the shared U.S. gene pool, they are able to contribute several extra IQ points–for whatever smarts may be worth over innate will and drive, . . . okay, . . .

Asian-American communities are not at all to be recognized in a negative divorce rate, out of wed-lock births, . . . nor child-abandonment nor drug use.

As in other cities, here in OKC, north of 23rd, the Asian-American area of town receives positive remark for upkeep and cleanliness.

For whatever this nation is about, we done very well with the Asian addition, and so much so that, kn adding to this nation, we should get good people wherever we can find 'em and as fast as we can get 'em. I would say that, generally, should an Asian anticipate emigration to U.S. shores, that one's efforts should be facilitated–to my own observation, they make better "Americans" than the Americans, . . .

As for Flip Wilson's comedic line from about 40 years past, "Da Debil made me do it." still to be heard in the common: "I was abandoned as a child.", "My mom was a heroin addict.", . . . "If your parents are to be blamed for leaving you where they did, if you're still in the same spot, today, . . . that's on you, Pal.", . . .

PhillipGaley

. . . . almost forgot–not as is so of the Leftist's fav group du jour, have I heard anything showing that, people of Asian extraction are involved in so-called "honor-murder", . . .

PhillipGaley

. . . almost forgot–nor also, does the Asian community raise support spokesmen to sporadically occupy the resources of the larger community with various appearances of "grievance theater", . . .

Arie

OUR OWN? You are not a "feminist conservative." You ARE a racist. Go back to your roach hole

mike

If you are so upset about blacks being here unwillingly due to slavery, then the only solution would be to send them back to Africa. Of course that was tried in the 1820's and it was called Liberia, with its capital being named Monrovia.

But the reality is that few black Americans were repatriated to Africa, and those that did became an alien elite that were resented by the 'native tribes' that inhabited the hinterland. Even today that option still exists, but few take it…

The reality is quite the opposite. Black 'third worlders often would prefer to emigrate to racist America rather than stay in Africa.

jmz

wrong…that excuse left 100 yrs ago. a simple fact of history is that ALL civilizations has had slaves at 1 point. even and especially black. none of the people who were slaves are alive, neither were their parents/grandparents. they have every opportunity given to them and still they cant make it. racebaiters like sharpton hate asians and indians because it destroys the 'non-white people are victims- mentality he preaches. here you have other minorities making money and being successful except the black people and they need a scapegoat to blame their laziness and racism on. blacks have been born and bred to believe that they are perpetual victims and any and all failures are diue to their skin. if a black dares to actually stop being a victim they are harassed and ostracized. your comment has to be one of the most ignorant i have read all day. a person legally comming from a 3rd world and becomming successful here is the APEX of the american dream. honestly i think your name is a setup, because in no way could you truly be a feminist or conservative and type what you just did. troll alert.

west coast

that's a whole lot of bull sh**! some members of the african tribe participated in capturing their rival tribe to be traded for weapons & other goods. if u take an asian american course you would know that they are educated and have professional jobs prior leaving their country. they leave & come here because the pay is better & the political corruption here is not as bad as over there. some can't work in their professional field due to language barrier & americans look down on their education and see it as inferior. & the recent asian immigrants was due to u.s. involvement w/vietnam & those ppl had to escape or else they would face retribution from the communist after the u.s. backed out. everyone who comes to america has a story to tell. just because u & ur ancestor were here longer u would think u would have empathy for them but i guess u r just ignorant

Ken

Bigotry is bigotry, and is wrong!!! Where is the outrage?!?! Calling Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson!!! Hypocrites!!!

kafir4life

LOOK OUT!!!!! You're heading the wrong way down a one-way street!!!

kafir4life

"Asian" is code for muslim, and I couldn't agree more. We don't hire them. We don't shop in their stores. We don't shop in stores that hire them, and explain to management why. It's a safety issue. We know that not all muslims are terrorists, but as infidels, we have no way to tell one from another, so it's best to just stay away from them. They don't want to integrate anyway, so there's no point in integrating them with my money.
allahu snackbar.

be careful

We are on different sides of the aisle politically, but this is for your own sake in all good faith. If a Muslim were to be able to tie your posts to you, and you do indeed have hiring authority, all it would take for you to lose everything is for a Muslim to apply with you and be rejected. With your posts telling everyone that this is your practice, you'd have absolutely no legal defense in a discrmination suit. There are many, many sleazeball attorneys that partake in "drive-by" lawsuits in discrimination and accessibility matters.

Ghostwriter

Sorry,kafir4life,but you're wrong on this one. Most Chinese,Koreans,Japanese,Filipinos,and others like them are not Muslim. Many of them practice Buddism,Shintoism,Taoism,etc with a sprinkling of Christianity and Islam. Maybe you should get you facts straight before you write your posts.

jmz

your comment made NO sense at all.islam is a filty religion…asian is a race. you cannot compare the 2. there is no code for muslim their freud. the cigar is just a cigar.

http://www.quotingislam.blogspot.com traeh

Asian is code word for Muslim in the UK, not in the U.S. If you knew the situation to which Malkin refers, you'd know she is talking about 99% non-Muslim Asians.

Amused

SSSHHHHHHHH ! Malkin don't know about thr RAILROADS or outright violent persecution and murder of Chinese , right here in the US . And a present day non-violent bias by White Americans . Nor does Malkins selective memory , remember what Vietnamese encountered on the Gulf coast when they competed in the Shrimp and Fishing Industry .
Then to take what an absolute P.O.S. like Barry says and extrapolate that to be a general attitude is a disservice and insult to African Americans of D.C.
Ahhhh but of course , Malkins ultimate game here is to apply tyhe tag DEMOCRAT . There is indeed a method to Malkins madness after all . No matter who Malkin has to step on .
Way to go Malkin , true to form ! Just lookout MICHELLE , if there is such a thing as KARMA …….you better DUCK .

jmz

ssssshhhhhh…..guess what zippy .that was over a hundred yrs ago…barry was a week ago and is a small part of the racism exhibited by the black community victocrats on a daily basis…ya might want to try some perspective before racebaiting with ignorant statements like that…shhhhh

joy52

More handout mentality. Since muslims have stolen blacks' traditional victimization model, looks like there is competition for the goodies. The southeast Asians, on the other hand, are too smart for them. They will find a way to land on their feet and if driven out, will find better neighborhoods–paying customers like them. Funny how minorities don't follow the multicultural playbook. That's only for guiltridden whites, foo'!

mrbean

Feministconservative needs a history lesson. When Mohamed Ali returned from Zaire, he commented loudly; "Thank god my great great great great grandpappy got put that boat!" Even the poor blacks in America who are ancestors of slaves are infinitely better off than even the middle class blacks in Africa. They have magnitudes of better housing, food, clothing, and medical care than the vast majority of African blacks have. But the most significant thing that is obvious statiscally, but not grasped by the vast majority of blacks, is that had slavery not occurred, not a single black descendant living in the Western Hemisphere today would exist statiscally anywhere in the world at all. Even today, the average life expectancy in the USA is 69 years for black men and 76 years for black women whereas in Africa, it is between 32 years and 42 years of age with only South Africa in the 40's for both black men and black women – and it was lower than that in the 17th and 18th centuries in Africa. So all blacks alive today in the Western thank the white man that they statistically exist at all. I know this went right over her liberal head!

Poppakap

So what exactly was factually incorrect about what Ms. Malkin said in this article? Why exactly does she need a history lesson? Plus, is it too much to ask that your comments remain topical?

http://www.quotingislam.blogspot.com traeh

Poppakap, mr.bean was not saying that Malkin needs a history lesson. "Feministconservative" is the name of a commenter at the top of the thread who makes a comment that does not sound particularly conservative to me. Look up.

Questions

Michelle Malkin also needs a history lesson. Former Mayor Barry's crack bust happened in 1990, not 1987. More importantly, he may have had a point. I'll grant you, blacks, compared to whites, Asians, and even Hispanics, produce few self-sustaining enterprises — and many of those "success" stories are products of affirmative lending by SBA and other public agencies. Still, I've been in my share of Asian-run restaurants; some could use an extra health code inspection.

poppakap

…as could a few owned by whites, blacks, hispanics, any every other race under the sun. Filth is no respecter of races.

http://www.quotingislam.blogspot.com traeh

The reason race-hustlers like Barry and Sharpton hate Asians (as when Barry refers to Asian shops being "dirty" — and you know there is nothing whatsoever objective in his remark, just a disgusting racial hatred against Asians) — the reason race hustlers hate Asians is that Asian success undermines the race-hustlers' whole scam, a scam which pretends that white racism is responsible for the current problems of black people. If white racism is so prevalent, how is it that Asians succeed so brilliantly? In fact, the current problems of black people are due to left wing social policy of using government in a way that worsens a culture of dependency that had been established by centuries of slavery and then decades of Jim Crow laws. Even the Democratic senator and scholar Daniel Patrick Moynihan pointed out that liberal social policy had contributed to the destruction of the black family.

tagalog

With one exception, every racial/ethnic group that has come to America has worked very, very hard to carve out its place in American culture. The Germans, the Asians, the Irish, the Italians, the Poles, and so on and so on, have all spent their first couple of generations working their way painfully into the middle class and onward.

The only group that came here and spent its time learning how to dog it, slack off on labor, and duck their bosses while refusing to join the culture once membership was opened to them is American blacks. They seem to expect an eternal handout, together with endless apologies, in exchange for about 250 years of slavery, or so their most vocal leaders seem to want us to believe. Aristotle, the classical Greek philosopher, once claimed that some people are meant to be slaves. We white folks would like to be able to say that's not true, since the idea that all people are created equal came from us.

trickyblain

Aristotle had absolutely no racial connotations — everyone outside of Hellenistic culture is a barbarian and potential slave (Hellenes were not of a single race). He's ascribing individual traits but at the same time contradicting himself (i.e., a slave is made a slave by nature [traits], at the same time a ruler makes slaves because he is more powerful).

He was a great thinker, but his logic in this argument is unsound. That said, it has nothing to with racial inequity or anything like it. He's attempting to justify slaves as war spoils, and frankly, fails.

While I think Marion Barry is about as repulsive a politician as there is in the U.S., you are making a few mistakes. First, black people in the U.S. — most of them, anyway — did not just "come" here. They endured centuries of slavery and then decades of Jim Crow laws, and then an idiotic left wing social policy that only reinforced what slavery created: the culture of dependency, lack of self-direction, shirking of work, and lying. Many African Americans have honorably overcome all that, but you still get some race-hustlers like Sharpton and Marion Barry who live by conning some vulnerable blacks and plenty of white liberals into the idiocy that more government-fostered dependency and victimology is just the thing black people need. Barry is a shameless liar who has completely betrayed the public trust. He should be in jail, not in political office.

Dennis x

"came here and spent its time learning to dog, slack off" never heard salvery termed as slacking off. The idea of created equal was written by slave owners and was for the benifit of white male landowners only. Your sheet as been exposed!

Amused

Oh please , this just another of Malkin's strawman propaganda articles . The whole purpose of the article resides in it's title " Barry and the> LEFT'S< hatred of Asian entrepeneurs " and of course add the TAG …..winning a > DEMOCRATIC < primary . Are you people stupid ? OR is it just a matter of Malkin determining that you are stupid ??
More redmeat for the sycophants ….and the expected PAVLOVIAN RESPONSE .
How pathetic is that ?

Maxie

Malkin and Coulter just two intelligent and beautiful conservative women and you just go all to pieces over them. What does your therapist have to say to you about that Abused?

Juliet G.

He says: "Abused, excessive self-abuse will make you insane, or, if you lucky – plain stupid."
Obviously the luck has been with Abused.

Amused

And BTW , since everyone here considers Cnn lefties annd commies , Barry's remarks just broke on the news . They are calling it what it was ….a racial slur .

PAthena

Barry is preaching racism Ward 8 in the D.C. no more belongs to Negroes than it does to any other Americans, restrictive covenants having been struck down by the Supreme Court in 1948. Thank you, Michelle, for reporting this.

Ghostwriter

I'll never understand why Marion Barry keeps getting re-elected. He is an idiot and a shame to all decent black people everywhere.

gman

Does the D.C.city council require their members to undergo random drug testing? This clown shoe sounds like he is still hittin' the crack pipe!

Wise-Azz Latina

Crack is indeed whack.

http://www.quotingislam.blogspot.com traeh

The reason race-hustlers like Barry and Sharpton hate Asians (as when Barry refers to Asian shops being "dirty" — and you know there is nothing whatsoever objective in his remark, just a disgusting racial hatred against Asians) — the reason race hustlers hate Asians is that Asian success undermines the race-hustlers' whole scam, a scam which pretends that white racism is responsible for the current problems of black people. If white racism is so prevalent, how is it that Asians succeed so brilliantly? In fact, the current problems of black people are due to left wing social policy of using government in a way that worsens a culture of dependency that had been established by centuries of slavery and then decades of Jim Crow laws. Even the Democratic senator and scholar Daniel Patrick Moynihan pointed out that liberal social policy had contributed to the destruction of the black family.

mlcblog

I just love Michelle and the way she writes. She is so….sane!!

Texasron

An interesting thing happened in Dallas a few weeks ago. An Asian owner of a food store killed a black man who was robbing him. As a result, the black community was picketing the Asian run store and demanded that the black community not shop there. I suppose they didn't think robbing a store was a bad thing.

west coast

if you want to identify ethnicity with the social work they do i'll break it down "over simplified"
whites: they're good with anything that deals with the law hence law & business
blacks: they dominate the entertainment industry
asians: medical/science field
hispanics: i live in CA & i think they really good w/agriculture & they are

none of this is to poke fun at any ethnicity but generally you would see the groups in these fields & it's because they are good at it..hey you got to look at what you do best. if a brother can't handle running a business then let him do something he's good at. & all i'm saying is everyone got an equal chance at the pursuit of happiness. & if a brother wants to run a shop who's to stop him but himself